Since Paige had changed her plans to go home for Christmas Day, Pru decided to drive out to Rosewood to see her friend before Stanford's winter break was over. She got in on Sunday night, and, to Paige's relief, she was too tired from the drive to have much interaction with Emily and her family that night. Paige knew that it was just a one-night reprieve: Pru would be only too happy to embarrass her come Monday morning.
Unlike the rest of the household, Pru was not a morning person. Emily and Paige were used to getting up early for swimming, and early mornings were part and parcel of military life for Emily's parents. By the time Pru stumbled out of the guest room in a desperate search for caffeine, everyone else was already fed, dressed, and ready to take on the day.
Early in the afternoon, Emily, Paige, and Pru headed to The Brew to meet Emily's friends. Emily was eager to reconnect with her them, since she hadn't had a chance to see them since Thanksgiving.
The girls exchanged hugs, small token Christmas gifts, and chit-chat over lunch. In the middle of it, Pru addressed Hanna. "He's cute, isn't he?"
No one else had picked up on the wiry looking guy who kept catching Hanna's eye, but they all looked over after Pru made her comment. Hanna had seen him around town a few times, but she had never met him.
"Do you want to go over?" Pru offered. "I'm a great wingman! - Tell her, Paige!"
Paige threw her hands up. "I don't have anything to do with this!"
Hanna was more than happy to accept Pru's over. She quickly checked her hair and make up, and they made their way over.
The eyes of the rest of the table followed them. Pru was smiling broadly and doing all the talking, but Travis's eyes were glued to Hanna.
"What happened with her and Caleb?" Paige wondered.
"Long story," Spencer started. "He ran off to another town, chasing ghosts or something. It was all very strange."
"I have a feeling that he'll be back, though." Aria opined.
In a little bit, Pru was headed back to the table by herself, a huge grin on her face. She sat down and affirmed, "Told you I was a great wingman!"
"What did you say to him?" Aria wanted to know.
"Not much. Hanna did most of the work, with the hair and the face and the bod. It made my job easy. I just asked him - Travis - what kind of coffee he was drinking and whether or not he was from here. When he said that he was, I told him that Hanna was, too. Then, I came back here. He probably hasn't even noticed that I left, yet."
"So, how did you and Paige meet?" Spencer wanted to know. Paige cringed, knowing the tale that Pru was going to spin.
"Oh, my little Paigey," Pru began in a melodramatic tone, reaching over to hug her friend, who was just shaking her head in disbelief, "So shy. So vulnerable. So desperately in need of me. I used to see her in middle school, sitting by herself in the lunch room, her only friend the textbook that was in her hand. I said to myself, 'The world must not be deprived of this suppressed beauty. I shall unlock it, and share it with humanity, for the good of the species.' So, I befriended her. I groomed her. I took her under my wing. I transformed her from the awkward duckling that she was into the graceful swan that you now see before you." Pru took a bow.
"Yep," Paige said, nodding her head with a smile. "That's exactly how it happened."
"No, seriously, Paige," Emily prodded.
"Well, aside from Pru's embellishments, that actually is pretty much what happened. I mean, I was painfully shy and socially inept. Big surprise, right? You've seen the way that my Dad and I communicate. So, God knows why, Pru decided that she wanted to be my friend, and God knows why I let her, but, I have to say, she did help me out of my shell. And she was there for me to lean on whenever I was insecure in a social setting. Which was pretty often. So, basically, I owe her my life, which is pretty much the only reason that I still put up with her."
"Yeah," Pru added, "but on the other hand, I'm the one who introduced you to Sean Ackard, so I guess that we're even!"
Hanna rejoined the table with a hug for Pru and a big smile on her face. "There you go!" Pru said, gesturing with pride towards Hanna, "Sometimes my matchmaking works, sometimes not so much!"
"Well, it took both of us to get these two together," Hanna commented, pointing to Paige and Emily. Pru gave her a high five.
After lunch, Paige and Emily took Pru on a walking tour of Rosewood. They did some window shopping and took in some Christmas decorations before returning to Emily's house. "Pictures don't do this place justice," Pru remarked, looking at all the decorations. "When I pulled up last night, the place was so lit up, I felt like coming in for a landing at the airport!"
"You get used to it," Paige told her.
Pru insisted on having Paige and Emily pose for a picture in their love pods, as she called the sleeping bags in front of the Christmas tree that were serving as Paige and Emily's beds. She also insisted on pictures of the two of them in the garish rainbow sweaters that she'd given them for Christmas. Emily gamely played along -mugging for the camera, giving exaggerated kisses and hugs to her girlfriend, drawing Pru in for a couple of shots - until Paige finally had enough. "I'd forgotten how much I hate you," Paige said with a laugh.
"So, are you ready for this?"
"Yeah, it should be fun!"
"Oh, no, Paige! Ice skating with my Mom is definitely not fun!" It's a competitive sport!"
"Relax, Em. I'm only here to enjoy myself."
Emily knew her girlfriend. Paige would be anything but relaxed.
At first, Paige skated around with Emily at a leisurely pace, laughing, goofing around, and having fun. About the third or fourth time that Pam whizzed by, though, Emily could see Paige's competitive fervor heating up. Paige shot her a pleading look and Emily sighed. "Go ahead, catch her!" she said, resignedly, "I'll be fine!"
Paige sped over to Pam, catching up to her with a fiercely competitive grin on her face. Pam matched her expression and her pace, turning around and skating backwards to taunt Paige. Somehow, the taunting and posturing became ice dancing, as they began executing an impressive range of impromptu choreography, moving from swing, to salsa, to disco, with a few other styles sprinkled in for good measure. Their few fellow skaters on the lake took notice and began cheering them on. Emily couldn't believe what she was seeing. When the two of them, both winded, finally skated back to Emily, her mom said, loud enough that Paige was sure to overhear, "Hang on to this one, Emmy! She's a keeper!"
On New Year's Eve, Paige, Emily, and Emily's parents stayed up to watch the concerts from the Art Museum in Philadelphia on TV, switching over just before midnight to watch the ball drop in Times Square. Then, it was off to bed for Paige and Emily, who had an early start to get to the airport in the morning.
Pam and Wayne saw them off. Pam gave Paige a long hug at the curb outside the terminal building, telling her, "Take good care of my baby." Paige assured her that she would. She hugged Wayne and stepped aside as Emily made her tearful good-byes.
At the gate, Paige and Emily learned that there were a few open seats on Emily's flight, and the agent was able to secure one of them for Paige. She could make no guarantees about their connection in Chicago, though. Paige might be stuck on her original flight out of Midway Airport.
After what didn't seem to be a very long wait, Paige and Emily found themselves checked in, boarded, seated, and on their way to Chicago. Paige had fresh marks on her forearm from Emily's fingernails.
When they got to Chicago, they were disappointed to learn that there were no seats available on Emily's flight. The agent offered to switch Emily to Paige's later flight, and they agreed. Emily figured that she may as well wait with Paige in Chicago, rather than wait without her in San Jose.
They made their way to the departure gate and decided to look around for a place to eat. As they did, Emily encountered a familiar face. "Gloria?" she asked, unsure that the woman would remember her.
"Emily!" Gloria replied enthusiastically, with a hug. "And this must be Paige! Oh, she's as pretty as you said she was! Fred! Fred!" Fred turned around, "Come meet Emily's girlfriend, Paige!"
They chatted a little bit before Fred and Gloria, who were on the earlier flight, had to head off to their gate.
Paige and Emily found some greasy fast food and a place where they could charge their electronics while they ate it.
As they passed the time playing Scrabble, Paige remarked, "You know, air travel isn't so bad when I'm with you. I can actually relax and enjoy the time in the airport."
"Really?" Emily replied, "Because I don't feel any more relaxed when I'm flying with you! I was relaxed with Gloria. How come you don't relax me?" she teased, poking Paige in the side.
"Believe me," Paige replied, rolling up her sleeve to show the lingering nail prints on her arm, "if I knew how to get you to relax, I would!" Truth be told, though, Paige actually enjoyed being the one whom Emily grabbed onto when she was afraid, and she wore the nail prints with pride, like a medal.
As they relaxed into the final leg of their trip home, Emily grew philosophical. She had been thinking about what Pru said, that she and Hanna had gotten the two of them together. She asked Paige, "Do you think that we would've gotten together if we hadn't been roommates?"
Paige thought it over. "Maybe eventually, but it would've taken a lot longer!"
"Right? It's cool, the way that fate put us together."
Paige just laughed.
"What? You don't think that it was fate?"
"No, I think that it was the fact that we were the only freshman recruits from P-A."
"So, you just think that it's coincidence? We got together by pure luck?" Emily was a little miffed. Paige changed her tack.
"No, Emily. I don't think that it was coincidence that two of the top swimmers from Pennsylvania both decided to go all the way to the other side of the country to swim for the same college. I don't think that it was a coincidence that it turned out to be the two of us, instead of you and Shana Fring or me and Sydney Driscoll. And I know, every minute that I'm with you, and especially those times when I'm not, that we're meant to be together. So, yeah. I think that fate definitely had a hand in things."
Emily wrapped her hands around Paige's bicep and leaned over to kiss her on the cheek before resting her head on Paige's shoulder. "Good answer!"
Paige looked down at her sleeping girlfriend, who was still holding her arm tightly. Emily looked at peace. Peace, Paige thought. That was the feeling that she was experiencing. Things were good with her dad. Things were good at school. Things were good with her friends. Things were great with her girlfriend. Could things get any better? Oh, yes, she realized. They could.
Emily was still sleepy as they waited for their luggage, and the hum and continuous circling of the carousel was hypnotic. Paige, on the other hand, was buzzed. Emily elbowed her in the side. "Hey, what's gotten into you?"
"Oh, nothing. I've just been thinking."
"Yeah? About what?" Emily yawned.
"You know my cousins? - The ones who invited us for Thanksgiving?" Emily nodded. "Well, they have a cabin at Lake Tahoe. I was thinking that we should go up there sometime, maybe."
"Yeah, we should. I would love to meet your cousins!"
"And you will. But I was thinking, maybe just the two of us could go. Like for a weekend. Head up after classes on a Friday and come back Sunday night."
"Okay. Ohhhh!" Emily got excited. And playful. "And what is there to do at this cabin by the lake, Paige?" she asked, suggestively drawing out her girlfriend's name as she danced her fingers up Paige's arms.
"Oh, you know. Cabin stuff. Skiing, tennis, swimming. Other stuff."
"Other stuff, huh?"
"Yep, other stuff."
"Hmm. I've always wanted to try other stuff!"
"Yeah, I'm definitely down for some other stuff!"
"Well then, hell yes, McCullers! By all means, take me up to this cabin, for skiing. And tennis. And swimming."
"And other stuff!"
"Mostly other stuff!"